India Tomorrow
NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 19—Various civil society groups and left parties organized protest against the Controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Act all over the country. Despite police making elaborate arrangements and putting up barricade on all the roads leading to Red Fort, the venue of the main protest in Delhi, protesters managed to reach Chandni Chowk and Jama Masjid, adjoining Red Fort and staged protest. A large number of protesters, including women, were detained by the police and taken away in buses waiting for them. Protests were also held at Jantar Mantar, a little distance from the Parliament House.
More than 100 buses had been kept ready outside the Red Fort to take people to various police stations.
Protests against controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Act turned violent in Lucknow, resulting into torching of several vehicles and police firing teargas shells to control the situation.
People from all walks of life and from various faiths took part in protests shouting slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and their party-BJP-for bringing the law intended to divide Indian society on communal and religious lines. They said that CAA and National Register of Citizens (NRC) to be prepared for people all over the country was in contravention of the provisions of the constitution.
Protest in Lucknow was held despite Section 144 imposed by the administration. It was part of the protest against CAA being held in several cities of the country including Delhi, Chennai, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Bhopal, Thiruvananthpuram and Patna. The protests in Guwahati and other Northeast states are going for the last several days.
In Patna, train services were affected due to the protesters belonging to Jan Adhikar Party of former MP Pappu Yadav squatting on rail tracks. They also burnt tyres on roads that cause traffic jam in several parts of the city.
In Mumbai, students of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) and Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) organized protest against CAA. TISS students boycotted their classes for the second day today.
In Bengaluru, historian Ramchandra Guha was detained with a large number of several others.
In Kerala, hundreds of youths belonging to Democratic Youth Federation of India took out a march to the Raj Bhawan in Thiruvananthpuram, after senior leaders of the left parties were detained during anti-CAA protests in Delhi. Governor Arif Mohammed Khan, however, was not at his residence. Police used water canon to disperse the protesters.
In Chennai, the police arrested a Tamil outfit leader Illanthamizar Iyakam for instigating students of Central Polytechnic against CAA. The police booked a case against three students-one from Annamalai University, other from Madras University and another one from World Tamil Research Centre for staging protests and brainwashing students to protest against CAA.
Kolkata mostly remained peaceful on Thursday, excepting stray incidents of clashes between protesters and supporters of CAA. West Bengal had witnessed arson and violence during protest against the new law from December 13 to 17. Chief Minister Mamta Banerjee had taken out three marches from December 16 to 18.
